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Apple's latest Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 keep familiar shapes but introduce a new underlying Health Sensing System aimed at improving health tracking accuracy. The Series 12 gets a roughly 2% smaller display area, a slightly wider case, Ceramic Shield 2 glass on aluminum models, and four new aluminum finishes including Dark Bronze and Light Gold. Ultra 4 retains its titanium build in Natural and Black finishes.
Amazon has launched early pre-order discounts across the newly announced Apple lineup, including AirPods 5 with ANC dropping to $125 and AirPods Pro 3 at $199. Multiple Apple Watch Series 12 configurations and the black Apple Watch Ultra 4 with a Translucent band are also seeing modest price cuts ahead of this week's deliveries. Separately, B&H is offering between $320 and $450 off select M5 and M5 Pro MacBook Pro configurations, while Amazon has $150 off the M5 MacBook Air and various Anker charging accessories on sale.
Apple's AirPods 5, Apple Watch Series 12, and Apple Watch Ultra 4 are now available for pre-order on Amazon ahead of their September 18 release, with some models already discounted. The AirPods 5 base model is listed at $125 instead of $129, while a version with a wireless charging case runs $149; new Apple Watch bands are also up for $99 each.
Apple has introduced a Readiness app exclusive to the Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4, powered by an upgraded Health Sensing System with new optical and electrical sensors. The app assigns a 0-10 score categorized into four tiers—Recover, Pace Yourself, Ready, and Go For It—based on activity, sleep, and vitals data. The feature will not be available on older Apple Watch models, including Series 11 and Ultra 3, even after updating to watchOS 27.
Apple's marketing materials for the Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 reveal that the small circular Heart Rate complication, previously just an app-launcher icon, will now display an actual live heart rate number. This upgrade is enabled by the new Health Sensing System, which measures heart rate every five seconds—60 times more often than earlier Apple Watch models. The feature does not appear on watchOS 27's release candidate for the older Series 11 and Ultra 3, suggesting it's tied to new hardware.
Apple's new Ultra 4 keeps the same design as Ultra 3 but adds a new S11 chip, doubles RAM to 4GB, and introduces a redesigned Health Sensing System with upgraded heart rate and HRV tracking. New features include high-frequency background heart rate monitoring, a heart rate watch face complication, more frequent HRV readings, a new Recovery HRV metric, and more accurate real-time step tracking.
Apple published a detailed study comparing the heart rate sensing of its new Health Sensing System in Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 against rivals like Garmin, Google Pixel Watch, Huawei, Samsung, WHOOP, and Oura Ring. The test involved over 1,400 participants across five sites in the US and Malaysia, using a Polar H10 chest strap as the accuracy benchmark during activities like running, cycling, HIIT, and daily tasks.
Apple unveiled the Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 at its Sept. 9 event, both running WatchOS 27 with features that work independently of a paired iPhone. Unlike this year's iPhones, which saw price increases, both watches kept their previous starting prices—$400 for the Series 12 and $800 for the Ultra 4—with preorders open now and shipping Sept. 18.
Apple's new $799 Watch Ultra 4 pairs a redesigned sensor array—32 electrodes arranged like flower petals—with the new S11 chip, enabling heart-rate readings every 5 seconds and HRV checks every 5 minutes, far more frequent than prior models. That increased sampling powers a new Readiness score that updates throughout the day rather than relying mainly on overnight data, plus a Daytime toggle in the Vitals app to view daytime alongside nighttime metrics.
Apple's newly announced AirPods 5, Apple Watch Series 12, and Apple Watch Ultra 4 are now listed for pre-order on Amazon ahead of their September 18 release. The AirPods 5 lineup adds Active Noise Cancellation across both models starting at $129, while the Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 introduce a new Health Sensing System with higher-frequency heart rate and HRV tracking, a readiness score, and audio features like Live Rewind and Siri Recap. New band colors, including translucent Ocean Band options, are also available starting at $99.
Apple's new AirPods 5 are available for pre-order at $129 and $149, while retailers are already discounting the newly launched Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 by up to $325. Separately, the entry-level M5 MacBook Air is selling for $1,099 through Apple's refurbished store, $200 under its regular price.
Apple has launched the Watch Series 12 with faster charging but the same 24-hour battery life, alongside the Ultra 4, which extends battery life to 50 hours. Both models run watchOS 27, which brings tighter Siri and Apple Intelligence integration, including AI-suggested apps, new one-handed gestures, expanded workout and women's health tracking, and a Siri Recap feature for real-time transcription and translation.